I've written many times not to overrate the preseason. But we can still look for winners and losers when game performances lead to regular season playing time. I'm still mostly concerned with position battles and injuries. I'll also include some fantasy movers and losers from other league news.
Moving UpRicky Williams & Ronnie Brown, Dolphins: Great weekend for both Miami backs. The acquisition of Chad Pennington should help make the Miami passing game competent, leading to longer drives and more scores. Pennington is also fond of the dump-off pass. While Pennington remains a weak fantasy bet, he is an upgrade in Miami.
Brown's return to game action Saturday was also an unqualified success. He rushed for only four yards on three carries, but his recovery from ACL surgery is ahead of schedule. Again, don't get carried away with preseason performance. But Ricky's sharp cuts, improvisational skills, and broken tackles show that he's healthy and ready to go. We like him as a RB4 pick. The Dolphins could split carries early, but don't forsake Ronnie's long-term value.
Editor's Note: See where Ronnie and Ricky are ranked in our online draft guide.
Eddie Royal, Broncos: Royal started the opening preseason game over Darrell Jackson and Keary Colbert, an impressive leap for the rookie. Is Mike Shanahan trying to motivate Jackson or is Royal a better fit opposite Brandon Marshall? Either way, Royal is currently in a position to put up the best rookie receiver stats in the league. That may only make him a late-round pick, but keep an eye on how this battle goes.
Marvin Harrison, Colts: Three catches, two first downs, and twenty-two yards. Using my Sorgi-to-Manning conversion chart, Harrison would have gained 258 yards if his normal quarterback was behind center. Harrison was tackled hard twice and kept making catches, which is a good sign. Concern about his knee continues to fade, as his value as a WR2 continues to rise.
Sports
(Incidentally, behold the awesome power of the 24-yard Jared Lorenzen scramble about 2:10 in to this video. The Hefty Lefty can move! And he may take Jim Sorgi's job if this keeps up.)
Matt Ryan, Falcons: Playing primarily with first-teamers, Ryan made his case to be the Week 1 starter. That may not be good thing for Roddy White owners.
Felix Jones, Cowboys - Dallas continues to look for some "wow" in their offense. Jones' 19-yard run and 28-yard catch, in which he made plenty of tacklers whiff, should help him get on the field for 10-15 touches a game early in the season.
Chris Johnson, Titans: The fact that Johnson can out-run the Rams' second team without making a cut doesn't really change my view of him. We know he can burn. Quinton Ganther tore off a huge play later in the game, and we're not pegging him as a sleeper.
Johnson's impressive practices, though, is making him hard to ignore. He's winning over the coaching staff. Once you account for his receiving numbers, Johnson could challenge LenDale White for most valuable Titans running back. We're not ranking them that way quite yet, but we will if it looks like Johnson has a chance to start.
Update: It looks like we're headed for a committee.
Philip Rivers, Chargers: Rivers took a sack. He got hit on a deep pass attempt that was called for pass interference. He also led the team to a touchdown on his second series. As ACL recoveries go, Rivers continues to work ahead of schedule. It was a victory just to play at all this weekend. Even though we'd expect inconsistent play early in the year, Rivers will clearly be ready to go in Week 1.
Jacob Hester, Chargers: The burly backup to LT2 dove in for two short touchdowns. His short-yardage role is why he's a better handcuff for Tomlinson owners than Darren Sproles.
Ray Rice, Ravens- Baltimore's offensive line threatens to make all the Ravens look terrible, but Rice's role is growing. Willis McGahee will undergo knee surgery Monday. He should be ready for Week 1, but there were already questions about his conditioning level. Rice's strong practices should help him get more a carries than your average third-down back, especially early in the year. Rice is a solid reserve pick.
Robert Meachem, Saints: Last year's first round pick may have emerged as the favorite for the third receiver job in New Orleans after gaining 129 yards against the Arizona backups. Don't get too excited yet though: Lance Moore started in front of him.
Tim Hightower, Cardinals: Peeking his head out from Arizona quagmire as favorite to be Edgerrin James' active backup.
Matt Leinart, Cardinals: So far, so good in quest to hold off Kurt Warner.
Kevin Jones, Bears: Off the PUP list, which means he should be ready to backup Matt Forte before long. Chicago's line could keep all their backs' numbers under wraps, but Jones is a better fantasy pick than the other Adrian Peterson.
Maurice Morris, Seahawks: Mike Holmgren is serious about this jobshare at running back. Morris started the first preseason game; Julius Jones will start the second.
Greg Jones, Jaguars: Remember him? The Pro Bowl fullback, now two years removed from his second ACL surgery, looked strong while backing up Fred Taylor at tailback in Jacksonville. If Taylor or Mo-Jo gets hurt, Jones could vulture a lot of scores.
DeAngelo Williams, Panthers: We will continue to be careful to overreact to training camp puff pieces, but Williams appears to be carving out more than a third-down role in Carolina. Jonathan Stewart should still prove to be the workhorse over time, but he needs to get some preseason work in. There's a decent chance Williams will open the season as a starter, even if the two are splitting work.
Andre Hall, Broncos: With Ryan Torain out for three months, Hall continues to solidify his role as Selvin Young's backup.
Stuck in Neutral
LaMont Jordan, Patriots: Jordan carried the load to open the preseason, a sign he may be fourth on the depth chart to open camp. The Patriots don't use their key players much in early preseason games. With that said, Jordan showed some late-career Corey Dillon-like slashing running ability. He may be able to run over defenders better than any of his teammates.
Moving Down
Darrell Jackson, Broncos: Jackson has every chance to revive his career in Denver, but Eddie Royal quickly passing him on the depth chart is a bad sign. Jackson could re-take the job by improving this month or by producing when Brandon Marshall is out of the lineup in the first two weeks. But the tie will go to the rookie, and Jackson is looking like a less inspiring late sleeper pick.
Willis McGahee, Ravens: It's better to get a minor surgery out of the way now, but any knee troubles for someone who previously tore his ACL is a concern. Of greater concern: McGahee's weak offensive teammates. The offensive line has huge questions, and the quarterbacks aren't any better. Repeating last season looks like McGahee's upside, making McGahee another third-round RB2 pick, rather than one of the only solid second backs to take in front of elite receivers.
Ahman Green, Texans: No one takes Ahman Green seriously this season as a fantasy asset because he's expected to get hurt. He started to build Houston's confidence with a healthy camp, but it took exactly one preseason snap to hurt his groin. He's expected to miss the next week. While it doesn't appear to be a devastating injury, it's a reminder that Green can't be trusted to hold up for long. Chris Brown hasn't stayed healthy for long either. It's going to be a committee, we just don't know the members yet.
Baltimore quarterbacks: They all made mistakes against New England, although Troy Smith took the biggest step back. He didn't look composed playing against third-teamers, and two possible interceptions were dropped by the Patriots. After a poor couple of practices following Baltimore's game, he needs to improve quickly this week. Smith also made an inspired but ridiculous dive on the sideline for a wayward Patriots pass while watching the action. Baltimore's quarterbacks aren't draft-worthy this season, but all the uncertainty doesn't bode well for Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton.
Tatum Bell, Lions: The Lions want to talk about their new balanced offense, but they need to learn how to run block. Bell was continually hit in the backfield as Detroit's zone scheme didn't identify Giants defenders. Kevin Smith didn't look much better in relief, but he could move up the depth chart soon after Bell rushed for only eight yards on seven carries. It's not a good sign when Drew Stanton leads the team in rushing.
Alex Smith, 49ers: The J.T. O'Sullivan threat is real. While Shaun Hill is slowly fading away, O'Sullivan practiced with the first team after starting San Francisco's first preseason game. I still consider Smith the favorite to win the job, but the odds are closer to 60-40 now.
Bryant Johnson, 49ers: A hamstring injury will force him to miss San Francisco's first two preseason games. Johnson is still expected to be the 49ers starter in Week 1, but the breakout candidate is missing valuable time.
